August 18, 2009

English Department Chairperson’s Meeting Minutes

Present: Rhonda Baringer (Allatoona), Josh Sturtevant (Campbell), Nora Moulton (Harrison), Will Lundy (Hillgrove), Hilary Minich (Kell), Mike Woodall (Kennesaw Mountain), Kathy Richter (Lassiter), Erika Beck (McEachern), Laurie Porter (North Cobb), Shari Atkinson (Oakwood), Reba Henson-Heard (Osborne), Diane Hagood (Pope), Suzanne Cain (South Cobb), Vicki Wilhelm (Sprayberry), Linda Rathjen/Kelly Bryan (Walton), Sharon Condon (Wheeler).

Absent: Amy Lydigsen (Pebblebrook)

  1. Schedule of meetings: See agenda for this year’s schedule.
  2. Writing lab funding:Each school has $600 to spend for writing lab supplies. These funds come from a special account for schools, and the money should be spent on writing lab materials/resources, using the codes from the handout.
  3. Textbook Adoption Committee (TAC): See handout for meeting dates, for which subs are available. (Dates could change. Venue TBA.)
  4. Assessments (benchmarks are 30 questions): Valuable data come from the benchmark assessments. It is vital for teachers to positively promote the benchmarks, encouraging students to do their best. Copies of the benchmarks are available on Picasso upon log in. Under Language Arts/Reading, select 9th grade. Under “Unit Resources,” link to the “Benchmark,” which also includes answer keys. Do not use these benchmarks as pretests, which will skew the results. With standards-based instruction, students will not have problems with these benchmarks.

A.Required: ELA 9th Lit/Comp 1, ELA 9th Lit/Comp 2

1.Scheduled for block Sept. 3-18 (window), and Oct. 19-30 (window)

2. Scheduled for traditional Oct. 12-23 (window), and Jan. 11-22 (window)

B. Optional: ELA 9th Lit/Comp 3, ELA Am Lit 1, 2 and 3

C. Diagnostic tests (50 questions): Given to sophomores in the spring. These are correlated with GHSGT, and provide valuable data. Remediation provided to at-risk students who were identified through the tests. Am Lit benchmark 1 serves as the diagnostic test. Therefore, do not use the Am Lit 1 benchmark in classes. Rather move to Am Lit 2 and/or 3.

  1. High school testing calendar: Note that the GHSWT date is changed on the revised testing schedule. New test date is Sept. 30. Students’ scores are reduced if they use formulaic writing. Promote the webinar on Aug. 25, “Writing for the Graduation Test.”
  2. Information from high schools: Please provide information to Carolyn Waters as requested, preferably electronic copies.
  3. Current Topics professional learning committee: Standards, sample tasks and instructional strategies created by a group of teachers, who met in June. See instructional strategies for use with weak students, a good place to start for differentiated instruction. USA Today grants available.
  4. USA Today:Every school will receive 60 USA Today papers, sent to department chair’s attention if schools do not teach Current Topics. Link will be provided to resource with 86 lesson plans and boot camp (GHSGT prep).
  5. Sample tasks: Still available on Ga DOE website, attached to standards. Carolyn is creating a separate link in PICASSO for the sample tasks.
  6. Creating Synergy/Writing across the County: A reminder that the freshman emphasis is on technical writing; webinar dates available. Suggestion to ask freshman teachers to attend that webinar (Sept. 15 at 3:30 p.m.

Sophomore focus is persuasive writing. Junior and senior level focus is expository. Research reaches back to freshman year, born in the technical writing which is also in eighth grade standards. Teachers should collect student anchor papers, which meet and exceed standards as graded on the rubric and include teacher commentary.

To do: All DCs should collect essays from all levels (9th, 10th, Am and Brit) and ask teachers to collect five papers that they consider as meet and exceeds, including information on the assignments’ specifics. We will then bring five from each level to Carolyn. (We no longer have a problem with student privacy issues. We can collect and post without worry. Only those who don’t want their work posted have to sign a form.) No names will be posted (teacher or student). Papers will be identified as grade-level only and either meeting or exceeding standards. Need these by the end of the semester.

  1. Textbook issues: Inventory system changing. Work with textbook coordinator to get what is needed. (Question about Multicultural books: American Mosaics and Crossing Cultures. Comment that Johnny Johnson has had difficulty locating them in warehouse. Carolyn will look into this.)
  2. Workbook orders: See handout with instructions on how to log on to order yourself. If you want Carolyn to place order, complete order form and fax to her. Use Adapted Readers in ESE small groups. Another resource is available for ESOL.
  3. TE resources: Carolyn needs9th and American Lit audio packets. Suzanne Cain can provide those to Carolyn. She also needs resources for Current Topics (Reader’s Handbook and Writer’s Inc.). Email Carolyn if you have these resources.
  4. Looking ahead:

A.Writing Fair 2010: Identify good writers first semester since Writing Fair occurs early second semester.

B.GHP Judging, Nov. 10, Sprayberry HS: Every school needs to send one or two teachers. Get names to Carolyn by the September DC meeting.

C.Essay contests: Coca Cola Smart and Bold Awards. Information available in folder.

D.Book studies: We will continue these to stay on cutting edge.

  1. Other issues, items in the folder

A.Standards-based gradebooks

B.Formative/Summative assessments

C.Grading policies

D.Budget FY10

E.State webinars, teacher training

F.Cobb Virtual Library

G.LiteratureResourceCenter

H.MRESA teacher training opportunity

  1. Trivia: Carolyn rode a mule down the mountainside inSantorini,Greece!

Yes, it was this mountain!

 Carolyn